Courtesy/NBC

To say fan favorite Eileen Davidson’s soap opera life on-screen is just as interesting at times as what goes on in her soap opera life behind-the-scenes, may be an understatement!  The beautiful, beguiling, talented star has just returned to her primo role on Days of our Lives as snooty Kristen Blake DiMera fourteen years after her last go-round, which had hell raiser Kristen causing all sorts of trouble for supercouple John and Marlena!  And with that came the stunning and hilarious performances of the Banks siblings, too.  Who can forget Susan Banks (teeth and all), Sister Mary Moira, Penelope, and Thomas?  It was quite the tour de force from Davidson.

We all know that Eileen was suddenly let-go by The Young and the Restless, as long suffering heroine Ashley Abbott, in a behind the scenes shuffle that had Sony putting her and requesting her back in the arms of the long-running NBC soap.  It was a move that originally had many fans of Genoa City left with chagrin.  However, as Davidson always does, (she lost her gig at Y&R once before) she landed squarely on her feet in yet a more promising situation!  And as fans have seen on Eileen’s first episodes that have been airing this week, it is going to be a fun and bumpy ride as Kristen descends on the poor town folk of Salem, who have no idea she is about to land in their hood!

On-Air On-Soaps had the pleasure of meeting with Eileen in her dressing room on the set of DAYS this week.  During our chat, we had more laughs and giggles, and we can truly say, Eileen is thrilled now to be back in the saddle playing the delicious DiMera!  So how will she stir up trouble this time in Salem?  Could it really be as had been teased that Kristen has changed her ways?  Do leopards ever change their spots?  We say, don’t count on it.  But read on to see what Eileen’s take on it all really is, and if Susan might make a return and tell Kristen that she is just, “Mean, mean, mean!”

MICHAEL:

I have been following your journey on landing back on Days of our Lives … and I have to say, “Who didn’t love you and get a kick out of you, your last time at DAYS?”   It was such an amazing thing.  Do you feel pressure to recapture that magic?  Even though that was back in the James Reilly (Ex-head writer, DAYS) period of wackadoodle storylines, where you played Kristen and four other characters?

EILEEN:

Courtesy/NBC

I do feel some kind of pressure, but in lots of different ways.  Not only with the fans who knew me back then, but the fans who don’t know me now, because I had five years to build that character and all the insanity and the drama was so heightened because of what was going on with Marlena and John at that time.  So to come in now, and suddenly be a foil to them, I am not sure if it would have enough of an impact.  But the writers have been so terrific.  So I am feeling better about it, especially the response from the crew and the production.  I hope everyone else will love it too!

MICHAEL:

Well, my favorite thing thus far is actually the tell-all moment!  And that is on DAYS … what hat is the new or returning villainess in town going to wear? (Laughs) And, you had quite a large one on your head!

EILEEN:

What hat?  You mean the flying saucer on my head! (Laughs)  It was a good idea, and what happened was when we shot those first scenes where Kristen meets up with Stefano, the lighting was not good on my face, and so they moved the hat back.  So we had to do that, and I promise just a couple more weeks of that and the hat will be gone! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Don’t you think “hat” means bad girl?

EILEEN:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

“Hat” means mysterious bad girl from Europe, apparently!  (Laughs) But we are not sure she is all together that bad, so we will have to wait and see on that.

MICHAEL:

So the back-story on Kristen’s return is that we, the audience, are to believe that she has gotten lots of therapy over her 14 years away from Salem?

EILEEN:

She has had several therapists over the years!  She has had therapy and seminars and all sorts of group therapy.  She has been re-birthed.  Kristen has done all of it including. Marianne Williamson … the whole thing!

MICHAEL:

Do you want to be the ultimate bitch this time out on DAYS?  What do you want to do with Kristen with this return?

EILEEN:

That is such a great question, because I found myself thinking, “Well, I don’t want to be that mean to that person!”  But then I had to stop and say, “Wait. That’s my job!” (Laughs)  And then I thought, “Ooh, that is so creepy.  Do I really have to be that creepy?”  And then I realized, “Yeah, I kinda do.”   So it’s kind of like your basic instincts are to rise above a bad characteristic in your personality, but I just need to go there and commit and stay there.  What is fun about this now though is she really has changed.  And, she has had a lot of therapy, and in many ways, she is a good person.  And this is what we are going to be seeing in the next few weeks, which is her struggle.  She has resolved a lot of things, but then there are certain people that just push her buttons!

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/DeidreHallFanPage

Obviously, Marlena pushes her buttons!  So when Deidre Hall (Marlena) and Drake Hogestyn (John) found out you were coming back to the show, what happened?

EILEEN:

I did speak to Drake, but none of us really knew what the story was and so we couldn’t talk about that.  I ended up actually being really surprised at what it is.  It is has been nice and juicy.  I have had so much fun working again with Drake and Deidre.

MICHAEL:

This is just my own speculatory bet: I think Kristen is going to be involved with Brady!

EILEEN:

How come?

MICHAEL:

Because, I just think Brady is John’s son, and that would be a way to stick it to John!  Have you even worked with Eric Martsolf (Brady) yet?

Courtesy/NBC

EILEEN:

Yes.  Well, Eric is cute.  But on the show, Brady really hates me!  He is suspicious of Kristen and doesn’t like her at all.  And Kristen is like, “Brady, we are all family!  What do you mean?  And why are you so pent-up?  Why are you so uptight, Brady?” (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

I am kind of seeing that as something that would really upset John and Marlena.

EILEEN:

Yeah, it would.  However, lots of different liaisons would upset them, because they are very uptight people!

MICHAEL:

OK, so when this all went down and you ended up back here at DAYS, and there was all the reported backstage drama at Y&R, are you sad that you are out of Y&R right now?  Ashley is still a beloved character of that show.  And, whether there have been times where they have given you crappy story, or good story, she is still a very popular character.  Sometimes I think they wasted you, and sometimes I think they gave you good stuff to do.  Are you aware that she was uber-popular?

EILEEN:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

I had heard that from a lot of people, so in that respect, yes.  But I had been treading water there.  So I have to say, and as I have said in different interviews, I kind of feel that I was being ripped from my mother’s arms, because so many of the people over at Y&R are my good friends, and many whom I am so close with.  Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R) and I for example, are very, very close.  It was tough, and saying goodbye to Marcy Rylan (Abby, Y&R) was tough.  But on the other hand, I had been kind of treading water, and there was not a lot for me to do there for quite awhile.  And so to be coming over here, and to have such story, and to be kicking ass, is such a blast!  I am an actress and so I want to act, which is what has been so great about being over at DAYS!  Plus, the weirdest thing of all is coming back and seeing so many people I knew from so long ago! It has been crazy warm, and loving, and all about, “We are so happy you’re here.”  So that was good, too.

MICHAEL:

And now at DAYS, fans can expect big story for Kristen? 

EILEEN:

It is a multi-leveled and complicated story and big, and brings in lots of different characters.  I just had scenes with Arianne Zuker (Nicole) today, and she thinks she is so tough!  Ha!  She does not know who she is dealing with! (Laughs) And then at the beginning I was working a lot with Alison Sweeney (Sami) and that was so much fun. Those will start airing right away.  Kristen is like, “Hi. Sami!”  Kristen is fun.  I think I am a lot more like Kristen than Ashley, except for the evil part!

MICHAEL:

Yes, I think so too!  When you played her originally, Kristen was the more rigid one, and then all these other characters sprung to life.  Do you remember when you started to see in the scripts: Susan, Sister Mary Moira, Penelope, and Thomas? What were you thinking when you saw this?

EILEEN:

Courtesy/NBC

What kind of drugs was Jim Reilly taking? (Laughs)  You know he apologized to me after I left the show for working me into the ground.  I said to him, “That’s OK.”  You know I volunteered to play both characters!  They were going to cast somebody who looked like me, and even Brenda Epperson’s (Ex-Ashley, Y&R) name came up.  And I was like, “Why don’t you let me play both roles?”  And that is how that happened.  Crazy!

MICHAEL:

Now, has there been talk about you playing Susan Banks again?

EILEEN:

Again, I would love to.  There was a little talk about it when they first called me about coming back, but I don’t know how Susan would fit on this canvas.  I just don’t, especially now that I have been back here for a while.  The show is not like that.  And in those days, we had more latitude, and now it’s a drama – a staple soap opera – and so if you have Susan lurking in Horton Town Square going, (Eileen does Susan imitation) “Kristen, you’re so mean,” I don’t know, if it’s going to fit.  You know what I am saying?

MICHAEL:

Well, I want to see you as Susan with the teeth acting in a scene with James Scott (EJ) as his mother.  And to me that is the funniest thing … you as James Scott’s mother!

EILEEN:

I don’t’ know.  And poor James!  He is going to cry and run away!  (Laughs)  I don’t know how I could do Susan saying, (Eileen does Susan imitation) “Elvis?  I love you Elvis.”  James is so tall, and so James!  And you know, standing next to him is like Land of the Giants! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/NBC

It would be hard to play the drama of the scenes with you, as Susan with the teeth, and James … but how could we make this happen?

EILEEN:

Well, it would need to be a standalone episode where it had nothing to do with any of the other characters, where it was just an episode about just them.  Or, EJ has a dream, or something.  But that is the only way it would work, as I don’t see Susan interacting with everybody on a day-to-day basis, and having her little cappuccino at a coffee shop. (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

You kept the teeth?

EILEEN:

Of course, I kept the teeth!  And you know the guy who made Austin Powers’ teeth made her teeth, and they are expensive, and they are fun.  I showed my husband 8 X 10’s of me with the teeth and he runs yelling, “I don’t want to see that!”   I have not shown them to my kids.  They don’t know anything about Susan and the teeth.  Isn’t that funny?  (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

So, just to touch on the backstage turmoil that led you here.  You were told that you were wanted over at DAYS, and so a decision was made to let you go at Y&R to pave the way for you to be able to return?

EILEEN:

It is what it is, and it was a while ago.   I don’t know all the ins and outs per se, but it was a strange situation, for sure.  But it has worked out very well for me.  It’s great to be here at Days of our Lives.

MICHAEL:

What have your co-stars at Y&R said, since you have been back at DAYS?

EILEEN:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

They say they miss me, and they want me back.

MICHAEL:

And oddly enough, a similar backstage shuffle has happened to you before!  You were let-go from Y&R as Ashley, and then landed on your feet at B&B … as Ashley!

EILEEN:

I loved being at B&B, and so it starts out weird, and always works out well.  For instance, going to B&B after Y&R was weird.  I loved everyone over at B&B.  I got to work with such terrific actors.  B&B’s executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell, wrote me very well.  I thought it was a breath of fresh air, and I enjoyed it very much.  And then, when I was going back to Y&R, at first I was sad.  I didn’t want to leave B&B, as I really liked it.  I had fun doing that.  I think I am pretty lucky, because as an actor on a soap you play the same person, over and over again.  I have gotten to jump around a little bit. With the umbrella being that they are all on the soaps, it has been quite the interesting journey.   I have got to say, it’s so much fun to revisit Kristen.  She is different.  She is not as uptight as she was.  I mean after rall, it has been 14 years since we saw her.  Kristen has grown up.  She is sewing her oats and feeling like a woman, and coming into her own in a completely different kind of way.  She was sold into sex-slavery.  I think she was put on an island for a while as a sex-slave!  But I don’t want to go there. (Laughs) They brought that up once in a scene and I said, “Unless you are going to go there, I mean go there, then let’s not mention it.” (Laughs)   So I am saying maybe she was there for 12 hours, and Stefano whisked her away on a private jet, and maybe that is where she got that hat!  (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Being a veteran on soaps and a staple in the soap community, people like to hear your thoughts on certain subject matters.  That being said, seeing long running and beloved members of the soap acting community such as Peter Reckell (Bo, DAYS), Ronn Moss (Ex-Ridge, B&B), Susan Flannery (Stephanie, B&B), and Steve Burton (Jason, GH) all deciding to leave their daytime homes, what do you think that is saying about the soaps right now?

EILEEN:

I have to say there are still a lot of actors still working in this genre, and you point four that have left.   I don’t why those people you mention all left, but I do know money is not like it use to be and that is going to be a factor.  And, as people are getting older they are like, “OK, maybe I can be doing something else?”  It’s just like people leave and go for different reasons.  And when there is so much drama around something, maybe they feel that it has run its course for them, personally.

MICHAEL:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

In a scene this week, fans see you as Kristen in bed with Drake!  What happened there?

EILEEN:

So, John has a dream … he calls it a nightmare.  However, I would call it a fantasy! (Laughs)  All of a sudden, Sonny asks him about his past and all of a sudden she is in his self-conscious again.  But, he realizes after he gets to know Kristen again that she has changed.  I mean, what’s not to love?

MICHAEL:

Well, I can think of a few reasons! (Laughs) I remember these big emotional scenes when we all were waiting for Kristen to get her comeuppance.  Kristen was begging and screaming at John as she was on the floor grabbing his leg, when it was revealed what she had done with the baby scheme and she yelps, “I did it! I did it!”  Do you remember doing those scenes?

EILEEN:

No, I didn’t, at first.  Drake and I have talked about it, and I have referenced it.  When I confront him I say, “I was on my knees begging you not to leave, and you looked at me like there was something stuck on your shoes”.   So, that kind of made Drake and me remember.  It was good soap opera.

MICHAEL:

So hopefully, we will see you down on the floor begging for forgiveness again after you pull some horrific stunts on the town of Salem!

EILEEN:

Could happen!  It just could happen.

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/NBC

How is working with Joe Mascolo (Stefano) again?

EILEEN:

He is Joe, and he is great.  Unfortunately, I have not gotten to work with him that much yet.

MICHAEL:

What would you say to the DAYS fans who are saying that the writers better knock this story of Kristen’s return out of the park, because to many, this show really needs a big spark right now to reignite it?

EILEEN:

I hope they will watch and tell their friends to watch.  It is great story.  If anybody loved all that stuff back then, they are going to love it even more now.  And, if they were not aware of what we were doing back then, they are going to love it now.  Like I mentioned, it’s complicated and you don’t know which twist it is going to take.  There is a lot of: Is she? Or, isn’t she?  I love it!

MICHAEL:

Is Marlena in for trouble from Kristen?

EILEEN:

She might think she is.  She is such a wussy! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/DeidreHallFanpage

Well, I remember the scenes when Kristen was locked up with Marlena and you said the hilarious line that still resonates in my mind, “Poor Marlena. Boo, Hoo!”

EILEEN:

We have a lot of stuff.  Basically, the whole relationship between Marlena and Kristen is based on that “Boo Hoo”. (Laughs)  There are a lot of scenes where John is not facing Kristen, but Marlena is.  So I am behind his back looking at her taunting her, and you just see steamed coming out of her ears.  It’s fabulous!  Really, I don’t know what it is about her.  It’s so much fun to torture her, it really is, because Marlena is so smug and she just bugs Kristen.  So, she wants to knock her down a peg.

MICHAEL:

If the DAYS writers and executives said to you, “We want you to play Thomas, and Sister Mary Moira, etc!”  Would you want to do that, and venture into those waters once again?

EILEEN:

I love those characters!  Again, I don’t see it happening on this show now.  I don’t see how it would ever fit in.  If they just did “The Eileen Davidson Show” for a few days, sure! (Laughs)   I just can’t see those characters mingling with the cast of characters who are the “normal” people in Salem.

MICHAEL:

Other than Eric Martsolf, whom else have you gotten the opportunity to work with that you haven’t before?

EILEEN:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Oh, lots of people.  Well, James Scott (EJ), and I love my James, and then Casey Deidrick (Chad).  I have had scenes with Melissa Reeves, because Jennifer is Kristen’s best friend!  When I was on the show before, Jennifer and Kristen were very close.  So now, she is always trying to get Jennifer to believe she has changed.  Missy is so funny. She will look at me in the middle of rehearsal and go, “You’re so weird.”   I mean, Kristin is weird.  She does get to say some crazy things.

MICHAEL:

The whole premise of what prompted Kristen’s return to Salem is that Stefano wanted her to come back to reunite the family and help him with his sons.  Does she do that?

EILEEN:

Oh, absolutely.

MICHAEL:

Well, what on earth can she do to help them mend fences with Stefano?

EILEEN:

Ah, she can threaten to ruin people unless they do as she wants.  She is just trying to get the family back in tact, and trying to get EJ and Chad back in touch with Stefano.  So she has to find the way to get the trust of her brothers, so that they will do what she wants.

MICHAEL:

And for those who don’t remember, you were the adopted daughter of Stefano DiMera?

EILEEN:

What are you trying to say?  (Laughs) I hear people mention that, but Kristen says, “Once a DiMera, always a DiMera.  It doesn’t matter.”

MICHAEL:

Photo Credit :Kathy Hutchins

What does your husband, Vincent Van Patten, think of you on DAYS?  Has he seen you with the big hat? (Laughs)

EILEEN:

He was not a big fan of that. (Laughs)  However, when I first started running lines with him a few months ago, before this all started airing he immediately said, “This is such a great part for you.”   He had really not seen me do anything like that.  It was like, “My God. This is going to be fantastic.”   He has been very excited for me, but he did say, “Don’t bring her home with you!” (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Did he run lines with you when you played Ashley on Y&R?

EILEEN:

Sometimes, but Ashley and Kristen are so different.  They are like 180 degrees opposite of each other.  There is nothing about Ashley in Kristen, and vice versa.

MICHAEL:

Ashley was sexy and more rigid!

EILEEN:

She is a heroine.  So often she was being victimized by people and trying to always rise above that, and being driven insane and losing babies, etc.  Kristen makes fun of people who have been through that, because she is meaner.  She is diabolical in a nice way.

MICHAEL:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Finally, what would you say is the key thing viewers should watch for?  To see if Kristen really goes bad?  Or, what will tweak her enough to the dark side?

EILEEN:

It’s the adventures of Kristen DiMera.  I guess, it going to be to see who she really is now.  She is coming back to Salem to do her father’s work to get the family back together.  But, what does she really want from Salem this time around?  Is she just coming back to help her father?  Or, does she have her own motive and agenda?

MICHAEL:

So wait then!  Has Kristen really gotten over John Black?  Hmmm.

EILEEN:

(Sighs)